On coronation street
SOUMITRA BASU
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It was termed the "most magnificent and dazzling spectacle" of that time.
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From the British colonies precious items such as stones and gems quietly made their way to England to rest at the Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London. India too, lost many a valuable gem and jewel.
The Kohinoor, a diamond of 700 carats found in the Golconda mines in Hyderabad, found its place as the central gem in Queen Victoria's crown, is now in the Tower of London. Similarly, the Timur ruby, 352 carats, once encrusted in the Peacock Throne landed in the Queen's hands.
Special crown
In 1911, when the reigning British monarch announced his visit to India to mark his coronation, a number of problems cropped up, the foremost being the making of a crown for the occasion.
According to the British law: "tradition and security militated against the removal of St. Edwards crown or any of the other regalia used at Westminster Abbey". So a special crown was made by the royal jewellers and charged to India. And what a crown it was!
There were 6000 diamonds, four large sapphires, four rubies and nine emeralds. It was a natural expectation that the crown would remain in India. However, it was not to be and today rests in the Tower.
The Durbar in Delhi was said to have been " the most magnificent and dazzling spectacle of its kind that the eye of a mortal has ever beheld".
The royal pavilion was the cynosure of all eyes with two thrones beneath a canopy. It was an architectural marvel, designed by Sardar Bahadur Ram Singh, Principal of the Art College, Lahore. The thrones were taken to the Buckingham Palace.
The king was very impressed with the arrangements and almost broke down while reading his farewell speech in Bombay. How Queen Mary reacted to her visit is not known, but she certainly expressed how much she like the gold and red shamiana. So much so, the canopy is to be seen in the ballroom of the Buckingham Palace.
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